A Friend in Need
by Sun
Summary: After his divorce, Hobbes is comforted by a friend. Occurs 4 years after Babysitting and Other Disasters


The door to the lab slid open. Maggie looked up from her work and smiled when she saw Hobbes.

"Hey, Bobby. How ya doin'?" she called as she pushed back from the desk and stood up. He was in the middle of a divorce that his wife had requested and Maggie didn't see him as much.

He shrugged. "Thought you might like to go to lunch."

"Let me just check with Nick," she said with a smile and walked over to one of the other partitions. "Nick?" she called inside.

His head appeared in the doorway. "Yes, love?"

"Is it okay if I go to lunch with Bobby?"

Nick's gaze flicked past her to Hobbes, standing uncomfortably by the lab door. After a moment, he nodded. "Sure, Princess. Have a good time."

She darted forward and hugged him. "Thanks Nick," she said as she bounced over to Hobbes. "Ready?"

He nodded and held out an arm for her. The door to the lab slid open and the pair headed for the entrance of the building.

"What's wrong Bobby?" she asked once they were outside. "Aside from the obvious."

"The divorce papers came today."

Maggie inclined her head sympathetically. "Bobby, I'm so sorry."

He shrugged. "I already signed them and sent them back with the messenger. Better to get it over with quickly."

"Like a Band-Aid?"

He nodded, with a sad smile. "Where do you want to go?" He abruptly changed topics and she let him.

"Anywhere you want. You pick." Maggie thought one of his favorite restaurants might help cheer him up a little.

He thought about it for a moment. "Fiorentino."

Maggie smiled. The Italian restaurant was one of her favorites too. "Okay."

It was only a 10 minute walk to the restaurant. Hobbes held the door and guided Maggie into the restaurant with a hand on the small of her back. She smiled her thanks at him as they approached the hostess.

As they crossed the crowded dining room, Hobbes froze. Maggie paused and turned to her friend, wondering why he had stopped.

"What's wrong?" she asked him, turning to glance around the restaurant. Then she saw Viv headed toward them in a rage.

"You haven't even signed the papers yet!" she hissed. "And you're already out with this child."

Hobbes looked stricken. Maggie went white as a sheet. "I signed them today," Hobbes stammered. "There's nothing, Viv. Nothing's going on."

Maggie took a step back, not wanting a confrontation. Viv turned on her.

"And you, you need to learn to stay out of other people's business." Viv's voice was deathly quiet. She glared at them both for a minute and stormed out of the restaurant.

The two of them stood frozen; all eyes in the restaurant on them. Hobbes was the first to shake out of it, and he grabbed Maggie's hand. "Come on," he said as he pulled her from the restaurant. "We'll go somewhere else."

Maggie nodded, but she felt sick to her stomach. She wasn't sure she would be able to eat anything. "She never really liked me, did she?" she finally asked in a small voice, pulling her hand from his.

Hobbes glanced back at her and was surprised at how young Maggie was. He'd been friends with her for so long; he'd forgotten she was little more than a child. "Forget about her, Mags. We're gonna go have a nice lunch and forget about her."

She slipped her hand back in his and nodded. She smiled at him, but it was empty. She just couldn't forget the woman who'd hurt him so badly.

Two days later, Maggie was still feeling a deep sadness for Hobbes. Nick watched her with a careful eye, wondering what had happened between Maggie and Hobbes. The papers in front of him on the desk were forgotten as he pondered Maggie's growing fascination with the older agent. Nick absently wondered if Hobbes had finally noticed Maggie's crush and said something about it.

"Nick?" Maggie stood in the doorway of his study.

Nick looked up when he heard her voice. "What is it, Princess?"

"Can I borrow the car?" She dangled the keys to his truck off of her index finger.

"Where do you want to go?"

She chewed on her lip. "To Bobby's. I know you don't like him, but he's my friend and I'm worried about him. His divorce just went through a couple days ago and he's been real down at work. I just think he needs a friend right now," she said hurriedly.

Nick thought about this new information. Perhaps Maggie was simply upset about her friend's unhappiness. After a moment, he nodded. "All right, you can go." Contrary to what Maggie thought, Nick did not dislike Hobbes and he trusted the man to be honorable where Maggie was concerned.

"I'm not sure when I'll be back." Her voice brought him out of his thoughts.

He smiled. "You're an adult now. I'll worry about you if you don't turn up sometime tomorrow. Okay?"

Maggie nodded. She dashed forward and kissed Nick on the cheek. "Thanks, Nick."

"Night, Princess."

Maggie leaned against the steering wheel, staring up at the unfamiliar building. She checked the address again before climbing out of the truck and heading inside. She rode the elevator up to Bobby's floor. Maggie knocked on the unfamiliar door and listened to the sounds of movement inside before she heard someone call out.

"Yeah?"

"It's Maggie," she called back and heard the click of locks being opened.

The door opened and Hobbes appeared on the other side. He was dressed in pajama bottoms and a white t-shirt with the sleeves torn off. His eyes were suspiciously red and Maggie suspected he'd been crying. "What're you doing here?"

She smiled gently at him. "I thought you might need a friend. You seemed pretty down at work today."

He shrugged and let her inside. He closed the door and locked all the locks before following her into the apartment. "I'm not going to be very good company tonight."

Maggie shook her head. "That's okay. I'm here for you. Not to be entertained."

He wandered into the kitchen. "You want a beer?" he called back to her.

Maggie glanced around. There were several beer bottles already strewn around near the coffee table. She shook her head. "I'm not 21, Bobby. Nick would kill me."

His muffled voice floated back to her. "Have a beer." He emerged from the kitchen holding two bottles. He handed one to her and sat down on the couch.

Maggie gingerly took a sip from the bottle and grimaced at the bitter taste. She set the bottle on the coffee table and sat down at the other end of the couch.

Hobbes took a long drink from his own beer before looking over at her. "Paterson even know you're here?"

She nodded. "Let me borrow the car. I don't know why you think he doesn't like you."

"I put his princess in danger." His voice was thick with both sarcasm and sadness.

"He's forgotten that already. He does like you. Really." She reached over and put her hand on his. "I'm sorry about the restaurant."

"Don't be, kid. Viv's a bitch. You didn't do anything." He took another long pull from his beer.

Maggie's brow wrinkled. She gave her head a quick shake. "Don't call her that. She's just hurt. She never liked me anyway."

Hobbes stared at her for a moment. He looked down at his beer. His breath came out in a harsh sob. "God, I miss her so much." He cried and leaned forward into her.

Startled, Maggie put her arms around him. His head rested over her heart, his tears running hot against her arms. Unsure of what to do, she rested her cheek against his head and whispered comforting words to him.

After a while, Hobbes sniffled and lifted his head. He reached over to the side table for a tissue. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. He wiped his eyes and blew his nose. "I didn't mean to break down on you like that."

"It's okay. You probably needed that." Maggie wiped at the moisture on her chest and arms.

He stared at her and she fidgeted uncomfortably. "Why are you here, Maggie?" he asked softly.

She tilted her head to one side. "I told you, I wanted-"

"No." He raised his hand to stop her. "Why are you my friend? I'm 10 years older than you."

Maggie shrugged. "I like you. You're a good guy. And Viv doesn't know what she's giving up."

He snorted. "Thanks, kid."

"Don't call me that. I'm not a kid anymore. I'm 19."

Hobbes was looking at her intensely. "No, you're not a kid anymore. How does Nick keep the boys from knocking down your door?" He inched closer.

She laughed uncomfortably. "Where would I meet boys, Bobby? It's not like I go to school."

As she spoke, Hobbes sank one hand into her hair, his palm cupping her cheek. She leaned her head into his hand and her eyes drifted shut. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against her throat.

For the second time that evening, Maggie was startled. Her breath caught in her throat and she let her head fall to one side. His mouth moved up to a sensitive spot behind her ear.

"Bobby?" Her voice was unsteady as his tongue traced a warm, wet path down her neck. He lifted his head and looked at her, a question in his eyes. His hand slid under her t-shirt, over her spine and she shivered.

Maggie's hands skimmed over Hobbes' arms and up to his muscular shoulders. She followed his lead and leaned over to taste the skin at the pulse in his neck. He pulled her onto his lap so she was straddling his legs. He tugged her t-shirt up, over her head. He tossed it over the back of the couch and reached out to cup one satin covered breast.

She gasped and arched into his touch. With a slight smile, he scooted forward.

"Wrap your legs around me." She did as he asked and he lifted her in strong arms, carrying her to his bedroom.

Hobbes shifted uneasily. He curled his fingers in Maggie's hair, wrapping the soft curls around his fingers. She slept easily in his arms, her still naked body pressed against his. He felt guilty. She'd come over to offer comfort, not to sleep with him. He liked her a lot and didn't want their relationship to change because of one stupid mistake on his part. He didn't even want to think what would happen if Paterson or the Official found out about it.

He almost laughed at the thought of the gasket Paterson would blow if he saw his precious princess right now. Maggie snuggled closer to him and came awake for a moment.

"Bobby?" she muttered into his shoulder.

He tightened his arm around her. "Yeah, kitten?"

One sleepy green eye opened. "Can't sleep?"

He shook his head. "No. I'm just not tired. You go back to sleep. I'll be right here."

She nodded, already drifting back to sleep. Hobbes remembered the first night he'd spent with Viv. She'd curled up next to him just like Maggie, one arm thrown over his stomach, her breath gently tickling his neck. Shaking his head to get rid of the memory before he became emotional again, he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

The next morning Maggie woke up before Hobbes. She slipped out of bed and found one of his t-shirts to slip into. She headed into the kitchen to make coffee and find breakfast. The cupboards were painfully bare; highlighting just how recent this move had been for Hobbes. She started the coffee maker and wandered over to the windows. She pulled the curtains open so she could watch the world go by outside.

The smell of coffee woke Hobbes. He stretched in bed before pushing the covers away. He pulled on his pajama pants and padded out of the bedroom. Entering the living room, he saw Maggie standing at the windows, looking out. She was wearing one of his t-shirts, a black one that just barely covered her. He walked over to her and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Thank you, kitten. You were right, I did need the company last night," he said, dropping a kiss on her forehead.

She smiled and leaned into him. "You're welcome, Bobby." She chewed on her lower lip for a moment. "Um, I don't think we should tell anyone what happened."

His breath came out in a whoosh. "I was hoping you'd say that."

She turned to face him. "It's not that I regret what happened or anything. It's just Nick and Charlie… "

"They'd overreact," he finished for her. She smiled and nodded. "You feel like breakfast?" he asked.

"Sure. You mind if I take a shower?"

He shook his head. "Go ahead."

Maggie placed a hand on his cheek and smiled. She leaned forward and gave him a gentle kiss. "Things'll be okay, Bobby."

He gave her a quick hug and pushed her toward the bathroom. "Eventually," he said softly as she dashed away to the bathroom.


End file.
